[act-ma] Energy (and Other) Events

George Mokray gmoke at world.std.com
Sun Feb 19 17:04:51 PST 2012


Energy (and Other) Events is a weekly mailing list published most  
Sundays covering events around the Cambridge, MA and greater Boston  
area that catch the editor's eye.

Hubevents  http://hubevents.blogspot.com is the web version.

If you wish to subscribe or unsubscribe to Energy (and Other) Events  
email gmoke at world.std.com

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Bioinspired Hybrid Locomotion For Miniature Robotics
Monday, 20 February
6:30 PM
Harvard Microrobotics Lab, 60 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02140

Dr. Mirko Kovac, Katie Hoffman, Kevin Ma
Harvard Microrobotics Laboratory, http://micro.seas.harvard.edu/PLEASE

Dr. Mirko Kovac: Nature offers an almost limitless quantity of design  
solutions that allow small animals to move in natural terrains.  
Although animals share only a subset of their design requirements with  
robots, several of the design principles employed by animals can be  
used in robotics as well to allow them to improve their locomotion  
capabilities. In this talk, Dr. Kovac will give an overview of his PhD  
work at the Laboratory of Intelligent Systems at EPFL on jumping and  
gliding miniature robots. Further, I will introduce our work at the  
Harvard Microrobotics Laboratory where we work towards the  
implementation of butterfly inspired gliding and soaring flight to our  
robotic flapping wing microrobots.

Katie Hoffman (Centipede Millirobot): Due to their ability to navigate  
a variety of terrains at high speeds, arthropods have been used as  
inspiration for legged millirobots. Many robots at this scale are  
modeled after cockroaches, with six legs and rigid bodies; however,  
the diversity of body morphologies found in nature leaves unanswered  
questions about the optimal number of legs for robustness and speed  
and how passive body flexibility can enhance locomotion on both flat  
and rough terrain. A segmented, many-legged centipede-inspired  
millirobot with a compliant body provides the perfect platform to  
answer these questions. Katie Hoffman will present the design,  
modeling, fabrication, and experimental results of a 20-legged  
centipede-inspired millirobot being used to understand myriapod  
locomotion.
Kevin Ma: Recent advances in the understanding of biological flight  
have inspired roboticists to create flapping-wing vehicles on the  
scale of insects. A coordinated effort toward achieving this goal is  
found in the collaborative Robobees project, being conducted at  
Harvard University. The project covers all aspects of the system, from  
the flight apparatus and power systems to the electronic nervous  
system for sensing and decision-making. The goal of the project is to  
create a coordinated swarm of small, insect-scale robots, for  
applications in distributed sensing, search and rescue operations, and  
assisted agriculture (robotic pollination). In this talk, Kevin will  
cover some of the challenges in building small flying devices and  
highlight the innovations that have been made to enable the mechanical  
design and fabrication of these tiny robots.

Dr. Mirko Kovac is Post-Doctoral Researcher at the Harvard  
Microrobotics Laboratory as part of the Wyss Institute for  
Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University in Cambridge,  
USA. He obtained his PhD with the Laboratory of Intelligent Systems  
under the supervision of Prof. Dario Floreano at the Ecole  
Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL). He received his M.S. degree  
in Mechanical Engineering from the Swiss Federal Institute of  
Technology in Zurich (ETHZ) in 2005 with his Master Thesis carried out  
at University of California in Berkeley, USA. During his studies he  
was research associate with RIETER Automotive Switzerland, the  
WARTSILA Diesel Technology Division in Switzerland, and CISERV in  
Singapore. He has presented his work at several international  
conferences and in journals and has supervised more than 25 B.A./M.S.  
level student projects, one of which received the 2008 Foundation  
Annaheim prize for the best student project. In 2009 he won the JTCF  
Novel Technology best paper award at the IEEE/RSJ International  
Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS’2009) and the 2009  
runner up best poster award at the research day at EPFL. His research  
interest is the conception and design of novel locomotion and control  
methods for mobile robots and their analogy in biological systems.  
Webpage:http://kovac.me

Katie Hoffman is a Ph.D. candidate in the Microrobotics Lab at the  
Harvard University School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. She  
obtained her undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering from  
Bucknell University in 2008 and her masters degree in engineering  
sciences from Harvard University in 2010. Her current research  
interests include mechanical design, fabrication, and modeling of  
biologically-inspired ambulatory millirobots.
Kevin Ma is a graduate student researcher in the School of Engineering  
and Applied Sciences at Harvard University. He works on the  
aeromechanical design of the robotic bee, as a member of the NSF- 
funded Robobees project and the Harvard Microrobotics Lab. Prior to  
Harvard, he obtained his B.S. in mechanical engineering from the  
University of California, Berkeley in 2010. His research interests  
include mechanical design, microfabrication, and bio-inspired robotic  
locomotion.
Meeting will be held at Harvard Microrobotics Lab, 60 Oxford Street,  
Cambridge, MA 02140 (Please note the irregular date and venue)

After the meeting, there will be a no-host dinner with the speakers at  
the Cambridge Commons restaurant, 1667 Massachusetts Avenue,  
Cambridge, MA 02138, http://www.cambridgecommonrestaurant.com/

This and other RAS meetings are open to the general public. For more  
information about the RAS Boston Chapter, contact Chapter Chair Peter  
Meyer at 617-244-5049 or p.j.meyer at ieee.org or visit http://www.robotics-boston.org/

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The Harvard Clean Energy Project:  Helping Create Plastic Solar Cells
Science by the PInt
Monday, February 20
7 pm
Tavern in the Square, 1815 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge

Dr. Alan Aspuru-Guzik

https://sitn.hms.harvard.edu

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Tuesday, February 21
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Public Space 2.0 / Senseable City Symposium
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
All day
MIT, Building 9-554, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
The Senseable City Lab is hosting a Symposium on Public Space and  
Social Media, organized by the Austrian artistic research project  
"Public Space 2.0". During the three days of this event, the  
participants will present and discuss their work on urban sensing  
devices together with researchers from the Senseable City Lab and  
highly esteemed visitors from Columbia University including Laura  
Kurgan, Carla Shedd, and Smita Srinivas.

Web site: http://www.strategies-research.ufg.ac.at/public_space/?page_id=918
Open to: the general public
This event occurs daily through February 23, 2012.
Sponsor(s): Department of Urban Studies and Planning

For more information, contact:
Ezra Glenn
617-253-2024
eglenn at mit.edu

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Tuesday, February 21
noon
Boston Society of Architects, 290 Congress Street, Boston

The BSA Sustainable Education Committee together with BSA COTE will  
host Christoph Reinhart of MIT. He will give a presentation titled  
Building Performance Simulation – From Evaluating Performance To  
Suggesting New Forms. The event is scheduled for

Christoph defangs ;-)  building performance simulation for design  
architects, and points to how performance simulation can form the  
underpinnings for better buildings and better designs. Practitioners,  
students and educators will all benefit. Please feel free to  
disseminate this invitation to colleagues and friends.

There are 1.5 LU/HSW/SD credits available, with the following Learning  
Objectives:
The use of computer-based performance simulations during design
The latest glare analysis techniques
How to teach energy simulations to architectural students.
The link between daylight simulations and occupant assessments.
Generating and using future climate files during building design

Please RSVP by sending an email to rsvp at architects.org, with SEC 2-21  
in the Subject line.

If you cannot attend in person, please call in:

Conference call: 712 432-1620,
Participant Access Code: 456642#

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The Promises of Web-based Social Experiments
Tuesday, February 21
12:30 pm
Berkman Center, 23 Everett Street, second floor
RSVP required for those attending in person at http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/events/luncheon/2012/02/hergueux#RSVP
This event will be webcast live at 12:30 pm ET at http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/interactive/webcast 
  and archived on our site shortly after.

Jerome Hergueux, Berkman Center Fellow
The advent of the internet provides social scientists with a fantastic  
tool for conducting behavioral experiments online at a very large- 
scale and at an affordable cost. It is surprising, however, how little  
research has leveraged the affordances of the internet to set up such  
social experiments so far.

In this talk, Jerome Hergueux will introduce the audience to one of  
the first online platforms specifically designed for conducting  
interactive social experiments over the internet to date. He will  
present the preliminary results of a randomized experiment that  
compares behavioral measures of social preferences obtained both in a  
traditional University laboratory and online, with a focus on engaging  
the audience in a reflection about the specificities, limitations and  
promises of online experimental economics as a tool for social science  
research.

About Jerome
Jerome is a PhD candidate in Economics at Sciences Po Paris and the  
University of Strasbourg. He is a Fellow at the Berkman Center for  
Internet & Society, where he works with Professor Yochai Benkler to  
develop new interactive survey methods to uncover the foundations and  
dynamics of interactions and behavior in online social spaces.
Jerome is mainly interested in applying economics' analytical tools to  
the understanding of the evolution of culture, broadly defined as any  
set of norms of cooperation shared by a group of individuals trying to  
overcome particular collective action issues (be it in online or  
offline settings). He then tries to assess the relevance of those  
norms for determining a wide range of economic outcomes at the  
community level.

Jerome originates from the French region of Alsace, near the German  
border. He holds an MA in Finance from the University of Strasbourg  
and a Master in International Relations and International Economics  
from Sciences Po Paris. Jerome speaks French, English and Arabic, and  
is heavily interested in the Middle East's politics and culture.

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Real-time Estimation of Distributed Parameters Systems: Application to  
Traffic Monitoring with Smartphones
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
4:00 PM (reception following)
MIT, Building 32-123, 32 Vassar Street, Cambridge

Alexandre Bayen, UC Berkeley
Abstract:  The coupling of the physical world with information  
technology promises to help meet increasing demands for efficient,  
sustainable, and secure management of our built infrastructure and  
natural environment. A mathematical abstraction of the physical  
environment can be achieved in the form of distributed parameters  
systems, described by partial differential equations. Yet, initial and  
boundary conditions, and other model parameters necessary for complete  
characterization of these models are often unknown, driving the need  
for distributed sensing of the physical environment. Because of the  
nonlinearities and distributed nature inherent to these physical  
processes, efficient estimation algorithms to reconcile modeling and  
measurement errors in real-time remains an open challenge for many  
applications.

This work investigates the problem of real-time estimation of  
distributed parameters systems in the context of monitoring traffic,  
river flows and earthquakes. The recent explosion of smartphones with  
Internet connectivity, GPS and magnetometers is rapidly increasing  
sensing capabilities for numerous infrastructure systems. The talk  
will present theoretical results, algorithms and implementations  
designed to integrate mobile measurements obtained from smartphones  
into distributed parameter models of infrastructure systems. The  
models considered include Hamilton-Jacobi equations, first order  
conservation laws and systems of conservation laws. A new convex  
formulation of data assimilation and data reconciliation problems will  
be derived and demonstrated for some of these models. Other techniques  
developed will be briefly presented as well, relying on ensemble  
Kalman filtering.

The talk will focus mainly on a traffic monitoring system launched  
jointly by UC Berkeley and Nokia, called Mobile Millennium, which is  
operational in Northern California and streams more than 60 million  
data points a day into traffic models. The talk will also present two  
more recent applications of this research: the floating sensor  
network, for real-time riverflow reconstruction, and the iShake  
system, for smartphone-based real-time earthquake monitoring.

Biography:  Alexandre Bayen received the Engineering Degree in applied  
mathematics from the Ecole Polytechnique, France, in July 1998, the  
M.S. degree in aeronautics and astronautics from Stanford University  
in June 1999, and the Ph.D. in aeronautics and astronautics from  
Stanford University in December 2003. He was a Visiting Researcher at  
NASA Ames Research Center from 2000 to 2003. Between January 2004 and  
December 2004, he worked as the Research Director of the Autonomous  
Navigation Laboratory at the Laboratoire de Recherches Balistiques et  
Aerodynamiques, (Ministere de la Defense, Vernon, France), where he  
holds the rank of Major. He has been an Assistant Professor in the  
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at UC Berkeley since  
January 2005, and an Associate Professor since 2010. He is the  
recipient of the Ballhaus Award from Stanford University, 2004, of the  
CAREER award from the National Science Foundation, 2009 and he is a  
NASA Top 10 Innovators on Water Sustainability, 2010. He is the  
recipient of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and  
Engineers (PECASE) from the White House, 2010. His projects Mobile  
Century and Mobile Millennium received the 2008 Best of ITS Award for  
‘Best Innovative Practice’, at the ITS World Congress and a TRANNY  
Award from the California Transportation Foundation, 2009.

--------------------------------

Is Europe Doomed?
WHEN  Tue., Feb. 21, 2012, 4:15 – 6 p.m.
WHERE  Lower Level Conference Room, Busch Hall, 27 Kirkland Street,  
Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION  Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR  Center for European Studies, co-sponsored by the  
Program on Constitutional Government
SPEAKER(S)  Christopher Caldwell, senior editor at The Weekly Standard  
and contributor to the Financial Times and Slate
COST  Free
CONTACT INFO  Sarah Delude: sadelude at fas.harvard.edu
NOTE  Introduction by Harvey Mansfield, William R. Kenan, Jr.  
Professor of Government
Reception to follow

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Media Lab Conversations Series: Lawrence Lessig--"One Way Forward: The  
Outsider's Guide to Fixing a Republic"
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
4:30p–6:00p
MIT, Building E14, Third-Floor Atrium, 75 Amherst Street, Cambridge
MIT Media Lab Conversations Series
The new series Media Lab Conversations will host visionaries who work  
at the intersection of technology, art, and enterprise.

http://www.media.mit.edu/events/conversations

Lawrence Lessig is the director of the Edmond J. Safra Foundation  
Center for Ethics at Harvard University, and a professor of law at  
Harvard Law School.

Prior to returning to Harvard, Lessig was a professor of law at  
Stanford Law School (where he was founder of Stanford's Center for  
Internet and Society), Harvard Law School (1997-2000), and the  
University of Chicago Law School. Lessig clerked for Judge Richard  
Posner on the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals and Justice Antonin Scalia  
on the United States Supreme Court.

For much of his academic career, Lessig has focused on law and  
technology, especially as it affects copyright. He is the author of  
five books on the subject, and has served as lead counsel in a number  
of important cases marking the boundaries of copyright law in a  
digital age. His current academic work addresses the question of  
"institutional corruption"???roughly, influences within an economy of  
influence that weaken the effectiveness of an institution, or weaken  
public trust. His current work at the EJ Safra Lab oversees a five- 
year research project addressing institutional corruption in a number  
of institutional contexts.

Lessig has won numerous awards, including the Free Software  
Foundation's Freedom Award, and was named one of Scientific American's  
Top 50 Visionaries. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and  
Sciences, and the American Philosophical Society.

Join the conversation on Twitter: #MLTalks

Web site: http://www.media.mit.edu/events/2012/02/21/media-lab-conversations-series-lawrence-lessig
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Media Lab

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Book Launch: The Technologists
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
6:00p–7:30p
MIT, Building N51, MIT Museum, 265 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge

Speaker: Matthew Pearl
The MIT Museum welcomes New York Times bestselling novelist and  
Cambridge local Matthew Pearl, author of The Dante Club, The Poe  
Shadow, and The Last Dickens, for the launch of his latest historical  
thriller The Technologists, published by Random House. This highly  
anticipated new novel, set in tumultuous nineteenth century Boston,  
explores the rise of M.I.T. and the battle between past and present,  
tradition and technology. The event will include a talk and reading by  
Matthew, a question and answer period, and your opportunity to  
purchase signed copies of the book on the very first day it is  
available.

Web site: http://web.mit.edu/museum/programs/calendar.html
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): MIT Museum
For more information, contact:
Josie Patterson
617-253-5927
museuminfo at mit.edu

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CDD Forum - Shrinking Cities
Tuesday, February 21, 2012

6:00p–8:00p

MIT, Building 10-485, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge

City Design and Development Lecture Series focusing on Shrinking Cities

Speaker: Daniel D'Oca - Interboro Partners

Open to: the general public

Sponsor(s): Department of Architecture, Department of Urban Studies  
and Planning

For more information, contact:
Sandra Elliott
617-253-5115
sandrame at mit.edu

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The Boston Globe's digital strategy: a peek behind the (pay)wall
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
7:00 PM
Boston Globe, 135 Morrissey Blvd., Dorchester

Jeff Moriarty, vice president of digital products, will talk about the  
Boston Globe’s digital strategy – the launch of the premium  
BostonGlobe.comalongside the advertising supported boston.com — and  
how the websites embody and renew the values and ambitions that have  
guided its parent newspaper for 139 years.
With more ways to present the news, tell stories, and convey data the  
Globe is pursuing new products and transforming its business across  
all of its print and digital brands.

RSVP at http://meetupbos.hackshackers.com/events/43943892/?a=ea1_evn&eventId=43943892&action=detail&rv=ea1&rv=ea1

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GreenPort Forum

Two New GreenPort Projects:  Greening our Buildings and Neighborhood  
Kitchen

Tuesday, February 21 at 7:00pm

Cambridgeport Baptist Church, 459 Putnam Avenue, Cambridge

How can our neighborhood green up its buildings?  How can GreenPort  
help make more energy audits, efficiency implementations renewables  
happen?  House parties? Energy walks?  A buddy system?  We've got some  
ideas and would like to spark a discussion about what might work and  
how to start. Presented by Rosalie Anders. Rosalie works on climate  
issues for the City of Cambridge and is active in GreenPort.

GreenPort is starting a Neighborhood Kitchen--food prep, meal  
distribution and meal sharing for Cambridgeport. Sue Reinert and Sally  
Watermulder are initiating this. Sue is a Cambridgeport resident,  
member of Simplex Community Garden and a good eater. Sally is also a  
Cambridgeport resident, GreenPort Coordinating Committee member as  
well as a green building architect and community planner.

Come with your ideas for how we can launch these two important projects.
GreenPort envisions and encourages a just and sustainable  
Cambridgeport neighborhood

For more information, contact Steve Wineman at swineman at gis.net

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Wednesday, February 22
------------------------------------

Public Space 2.0 / Senseable City Symposium
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
All day
MIT, Building 9-554, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
The Senseable City Lab is hosting a Symposium on Public Space and  
Social Media, organized by the Austrian artistic research project  
"Public Space 2.0". During the three days of this event, the  
participants will present and discuss their work on urban sensing  
devices together with researchers from the Senseable City Lab and  
highly esteemed visitors from Columbia University including Laura  
Kurgan, Carla Shedd, and Smita Srinivas.

Web site: http://www.strategies-research.ufg.ac.at/public_space/?page_id=918
Open to: the general public
This event occurs daily through February 23, 2012.
Sponsor(s): Department of Urban Studies and Planning

For more information, contact:
Ezra Glenn
617-253-2024
eglenn at mit.edu

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Redressing Rightlessness: The Politics of Testimony in Japanese  
American Internment
WHEN  Wed., Feb. 22, 2012, 12 p.m.
WHERE  Robinson Hall, Lower Library, 35 Quincy Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION  Humanities, Lecture, Social Sciences, Special  
Events
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR  Part of a lecture series sponsored by the  
Committee on Ethnic Studies, the Department of History, and the  
Committee on History and Literature
SPEAKER(S)  Naomi Paik, assistant professor of American studies,  
University of Texas, Austin
COST  Free
CONTACT INFO  estudies at fas.harvard.edu

--------------------------------

Making a Budget Deal: Why the DOD is Not the Problem...and Why It  
Can't be Exempted
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
12:00p–1:30p
MIT, Building E40-496, 1 Amherst Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Mark Cancian, Director of Force Structure and Investment  
Branch, Office of Management and Budget

Open to: the general public

Sponsor(s): Security Studies Program

For more information, contact:
617-253-7529

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Some Inconvenient Truths About Climate Change Policy: The  
Distributional Impacts of Transportation Policies
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
2:30p–4:00p
MIT, Building E51-376, 2 Amherst Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Chris Knittel (Sloan)

Web site: http://www.nber.org/papers/w17386.pdf?new_window=1
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): MIT/Harvard Development and Environmental Economics Workshop

For more information, contact:
Theresa Benevento
theresa at mit.edu

------------------------------------

Seminar in Environmental Economics and Policy: "Lead Exposure and  
Behavior: Effects on Aggression and Risky Behavior among Children and  
Adolescents"
WHEN  Wed., Feb. 22, 2012, 4 – 5:30 p.m.
WHERE  Harvard Kennedy School, Littauer-382, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION  Environmental Sciences, Lecture, Sustainability
SPEAKER(S)  Jessica Reyes
LINK  http://isites.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?keyword=k82245&pageid=icb.page443881

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Running a Collaborative of Artists
Wednesday, February 22
5:15-7:00 pm, Kennedy 406, MassArt,  621 Huntington Avenue, Boston

Five members of the Beehive, a design cooperative based in Machias,  
Maine, will be in residence in the Art Education Department from  
February 21-28. They will be visiting classes and studios, installing  
an exhibition in the Arnheim Gallery, and giving two public  
presentations.

The Beehive's mission is to create collaborative, anti-copyright  
images that can be used as alternative educational and organizing  
tools. Best known for their posters, the bees collaborate to create  
visual narratives that break down and deconstruct complex and  
overwhelming political/social issues.

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India Group Meeting - The Economic Lives of the Poor
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
7:00p–8:30p
MIT, Building 56-167, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
We will be discussing the paper "The Economic Lives of the Poor" by  
Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo, both professors of Economics at  
MIT. They later expanded this paper into their book "Poor Economics."  
A short summary of the paper is below. You can download the paper  
here: http://www.anderson.ucla.edu/faculty/bhagwan.chowdhry/Banerjee-Duflo.pdf 
. I will be summarizing the paper briefly at the beginning, so feel  
free to come even if you haven't read the paper.

We also want to devote part of the meeting to thinking about the other  
topics that you'd like to discuss so that we have a productive  
semester. As always, feel free to email if you have suggestions (for  
future topics, or anything else). Also feel free to invite others who  
may find this of interest. You can also RSVP by going to this link: https://www.facebook.com/events/257397794335282/

Open to: the general public

Sponsor(s): India Reading Group

For more information, contact:
Anna Agarwal
about-india-owner at mit.edu

-----------------------------------
Thursday, February 23
-----------------------------------

Public Space 2.0 / Senseable City Symposium
Thursday, February 23, 2012
All day
MIT, Building 9-554, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
The Senseable City Lab is hosting a Symposium on Public Space and  
Social Media, organized by the Austrian artistic research project  
"Public Space 2.0". During the three days of this event, the  
participants will present and discuss their work on urban sensing  
devices together with researchers from the Senseable City Lab and  
highly esteemed visitors from Columbia University including Laura  
Kurgan, Carla Shedd, and Smita Srinivas.

Web site: http://www.strategies-research.ufg.ac.at/public_space/?page_id=918
Open to: the general public
This event occurs daily through February 23, 2012.
Sponsor(s): Department of Urban Studies and Planning

For more information, contact:
Ezra Glenn
617-253-2024
eglenn at mit.edu

--------------------------------

Reviving Regulatory Reform
WHEN  Thu., Feb. 23, 2012, 11:45 a.m. – 1 p.m.
WHERE  Bell Hall, 5th Floor, Belfer Building, Harvard Kennedy School,  
79 JFK Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION  Business, Lecture, Social Sciences, Special  
Events
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR  Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business & Government
SPEAKER(S)  Christopher DeMuth, Distinguished Fellow, Hudson Institute
CONTACT INFO  Please RSVP to mrcbg at ksg.harvard.edu

----------------------------------

Balancing for Power: Syrian State Power and the Dilemma of Armed Group  
Allies
WHEN  Thu., Feb. 23, 2012, 12:15 – 2 p.m.
WHERE  Belfer Center Library, Littauer-369, Harvard Kennedy School, 79  
JFK Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION  Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR  International Security Program
SPEAKER(S)  Ethan Corbin, research fellow, International Security  
Program
CONTACT INFO  susan_lynch at harvard.edu
LINK  http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/events/5697/balancing_for_power.html

------------------------------------

MEI Speaker Series: Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States in the Arab Spring
WHEN  Thu., Feb. 23, 2012, 5 – 6:30 p.m.
WHERE  Allison Dining Room, Taubman Building, 5th Floor, Harvard  
Kennedy School, 5 Eliot Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION  Classes/Workshops, Conferences, Social  
Sciences, Special Events
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR  Middle East Initiative
SPEAKER(S)  Gregory Gause, professor of political science, University  
of Vermont
COST  Free and open to the public
CONTACT INFO  middle_east_initiative at hks.harvard.edu, 617.495.5963
LINK  http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/events/5678/saudi_arabia_and_the_gulf_states_in_the_arab_spring.html

-------------------------------------

Come learn about gamification at GSUMMITx Boston
Thursday, February 23, 2012
6:30 PM
Microsoft NERD Center, 1 Memorial Drive, Cambridge
Sampson and Paul rooms (1st floor)

6:30pm - Featured Speaker w/ Q&A
7:15pm - Demo w/ Q&A
7:30pm - Play for a Cause - Gamification Workshop-like Game (hands on)
8:30pm - Mingle & Mangia (pizza & beer)
Speakers - Please contact us if you're interested in speaking about  
gamification. Gamification experience is necessary. Past speaking  
experience is preferred.
Demos - We're looking for companies to demo. Companies that have  
implemented game mechanics into their business strategy (not  
gamification platforms). Startups, med size and large organizations  
are all welcome.
Play for a Cause - If you're part of a non-profit or city/gov't dept  
and would like to have our group consult for your org, please reach  
out to us.
Play for a Cause is when we invite a non-profit organization in to  
present a problem to the audience. The audience then plays a game  
called 3-12-2...a workshop-like game that will help use some  
gamification knowledge to come up with solutions for the non-profit.

Free Event BUT - Since this is a free event, we know that some people  
will not attend even though they RSVP'd YES. If you know that you are  
coming or not coming, please update your RSVP. We purchase food and  
beer for these events and would prefer to have enough or not an  
overabundance of extras. It'll help us keep this event free and  
continue to put this event on in Boston. Thank you!
Filming - The event will be filmed by our Team for our blog.
RSVP at http://www.meetup.com/gsummitx-boston/events/44600222/

-------------------------------------

IDEAS Spring Generator Dinner
Thursday, February 23, 2012
7:00p–9:00p
MIT, Building W20-208, Lobdell, 84 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
RSVPs are appreciated but not required - email globalchallenge-rsvp  
[at] mit.edu.
Facebook event: http://www.facebook.com/events/177378162363056/

Working on a project to help underserved communities? Need funding?
Want to recruit new members for your IDEAS Global Challenge team?
Want to get involved, but don't yet have an idea?

Come learn about IDEAS Global Challenge and hear what other teams are  
working on. This is the chance to pitch your idea and handmade poster  
to woo and recruit teammates or pitch your skills to get hired onto a  
team. With the next chance to submit an Initial Scope Statement two  
weeks away (3/2), here???s your chance to share your idea, meet  
teammates and form a team.

TO PITCH YOUR IDEA OR SKILLS
The evening will feature two recruitment open mic sessions with a  
prize for the best presentation! If you don???t want to pitch, come  
join to mix and mingle to meet potential teammates!

Open mic spaces are limited. RSVP to globalchallenge-rsvp at mit.edu  
with ???Generator??? in the subject to sign-up for a 60-second pitch  
opportunity. Include the following information in your email:

Choose:
* Category One: Recruit The IDEAS Dream Team
* Category Two: Get Yourself "Hired"

For more details, visit http://globalchallenge.mit.edu/events/view/212

Open to: the general public

Sponsor(s): IDEAS Global Challenge

For more information, contact:
Bina Choi

---------------------------------------
Friday, February 24
---------------------------------------

"Microbial Harvesting of Scarce Energy Metals: How can we make this a  
reality?"
Friday, February 24
8:30a.m.
Harvard, Center for the Environment, 24 Oxford St, 3rd Floor, Room  
310, Cambridge

David Clarke

-----------------------------------

EnergNOC: Demand Response Challenges
Friday, February 24, 2012
12:00a–1:00p
MIT, Building E51-376, 2 Amherst Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Nancy Riley and Amy Roschelle

Nancy Riley, Director of Product Management at EnerNOC, and Amy  
Roschelle, Senior Energy Market Specialist, will be discussing  
EnerNOC's demand response business and in particular, some of the  
challenges that the company currently face.

Open to: the general public

Sponsor(s): MIT Energy Club

For more information, contact:
MIT Energy Club
energyclub at mit.edu

--------------------------------------

A Landscape Architect in the Twin Cities: Western Settlement, Indian  
Mounds, and America's Most Radical Park System
Friday, February 24, 2012
2:30p–4:30p
MIT, Building E51-095, 2 Amherst Street, Cambridge
Seminar on Environmental and Agricultural History

Speaker: Aaron Sachs, Department of History, Cornell University

Web site:http://web.mit.edu/history/www/nande/modTimes%202011-2012.html
Open to: the general public
Cost: Free
Sponsor(s): History Office
For more information, contact:
Margo Collett
253-4965
history-info at mit.edu

-----------------------------------------

Catalysis with nanocrystals
Friday, February 24, 2012
3:00p–4:00p
MIT, Building 66-110, 25 Ames Street, Cambridge

Speaker: Ming Lee Tang, UC Berkeley & Lawrence Berkeley National Lab
Chemical Engineering Department Seminar Series
See speakers, talk titles, and dates at http://web.mit.edu/cheme/news/seminar.html

Heterogeneous catalysts form the bedrock of industrial processes, yet  
little is understood in terms of structure-activity relationships.  
This is complicated by the fact that heterogeneous catalysts are not  
structurally identical, and that the catalysts change over the course  
of the reaction. Comprehensive characterization is necessary in order  
to determine the catalytic sites and hence mechanisms. In the first  
part of the talk, I present an amorphous molybdenum sulfide catalyst  
active for hydrogen evolution, photo-sensitized by semiconductor  
nanorods to produce solar fuel. The uniformity and large surface area  
of these molybdenum sulfide coated cadmium chaldogenide nanocrystals  
facilitate the structural and electronic characterization of the  
catalytically active species. In the second part of the talk, hydrogen  
uptake is monitored at the single particle level using darkfield  
spectroscopy. This non-invasive, in situ technique reveals that the  
hydrogen storage trajectories of plasmonic particles are shape  
dependent. Single particle studies of catalytic events allow  
measurements that would otherwise be obscured by ensemble averaging.


Web site: http://web.mit.edu/cheme/news/seminar.html
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Chemical Engineering Department
For more information, contact:
Melanie Miller
617-253-6500
melmils at mit.edu

-----------------------------------

America the Beautiful 2: The Thin Commandments (FREE Admission  
sponsored by Active Minds @ MIT)
Friday, February 24, 2012
6:00p
MIT, Building 10-250, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Speaker: Darryl Roberts

FREE Admission, sponsored by Active Minds @ MIT. Refreshments will be  
served at 6:00. Opening remarks will begin at 6:45, followed by the  
film at 7pm. After the film there will be a panel discussion featuring  
the film's director Darryl Roberts, and experts in eating and body  
image issues.

Web site: http://lsc.mit.edu
Open to: the general public
Cost: free
Tickets: Lobby 16
Sponsor(s): LSC, MIT Active Minds
For more information, contact:
LSC
617-253-3791
lsc at mit.edu

---------------------------------------

Wadah Khanfar: "One Year after Mubarak: The Past and Future of the  
'Arab Spring'"

Friday, February 24, 2012

6:00p–7:30p

MIT, Building e14-674, 75 Amherst Street, Cambridge

Speaker: Wadah Khanfar

Wadah Khanfar is president of the Sharq Forum, an international think  
tank focused on political and economic development in the Arab world,  
and former director general of the Al Jazeera network. Under Khanfar's  
leadership, Al Jazeera offered to the world a front-row seat to  
witness the fall of dictatorships in Tunisia and Egypt, and the wave  
of rebellion that swept the Arab world. A year later, Khanfar reflects  
on the hopes raised by the Arab Spring, the changes that have???and  
haven't???taken place, and the challenges Egypt and other countries  
face on the road towards democracy.

Khanfar's talk will be followed by a dialogue with Joi Ito, director  
of the MIT Media Lab; Ethan Zuckerman, director of MIT's Center for  
Civic Media; and Mohamed Nanabhay, head of online at Al Jazeera  
English, as well as questions and answers with the audience.

Web site: http://www.media.mit.edu/events/2012/02/24/wadah-khanfar-one-year-aft
er-mubarak-past-and-future-arab-spring
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Media Lab, Center for Civic Media

------------------------------------
Saturday, February 26
------------------------------------

Alewife Wildlife Walk Series
Sundays, Feb. 26 and Apr. 15, 1 – 3pm
Saturdays, Mar. 10, 9 – 11am

Sponsored by The Friends of Alewife Reservation

Spring Migration, bringing songbirds and more through the coastal  
Northeast, will be in full swing for the best bird viewing  
opportunities of the year so bring your field glasses and guide books  
to join expert tracker naturalist David Brown in search of wildlife  
signs in this small but vital river floodplain forest in Belmont,  
Cambridge and connecting Arlington woodlands as we visit the precious  
local resource used to rest and refuel for the flight
Dress warmly and wear sturdy boots; terrain is rugged. Please note  
that this is an adult activity, but interested children are welcome  
with their parents. Little ones may need to be carried. Wetness  
requires boots. There is no cost; a donation is requested.

Meet at: The Alewife Reservation parking lot, Acorn Park Drive, off  
Rt. 2 Cambridge.
For additional information visit  HYPERLINK "http://www.friendsofalewifereservation.org 
" \t "_blank" www.friendsofalewifereservation.org or call 617 415 1884
Sign up at  HYPERLINK "mailto:info at friendsofalewifereservation.org" info at friendsofalewifereservation.org
Brown, an expert naturalist, has been giving walks for years at the  
Alewife Reservation and has published a professional assessment of the  
area "Biodiversity of the Alewife Reservation Area", available from FAR.

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT PROGRAMS IN YOUR STATE PARKS VISIT http://mass.gov/dcr

MASSACHUSETTS DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION AND RECREATION

----------------------------------------
Monday, February 27
----------------------------------------

"Oil: The Next Big Surprises"
Monday, February 27, 2012
12:00pm - 1:30pm
Bell Hall, 5th Floor, Belfer Building, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge

Leonardo Maugeri, Senior Fellow, Harvard Kennedy School
Contact Name:  Louisa Lund

louisa_lund at harvard.edu

--------------------------------------

TALK: Printing Functional Materials
Monday, February 27, 2012
12:00p–1:30p
MIT, Building E14-633, 75 Amherst Street, Cambridge

Speaker: Dr. Jennifer A. Lewis
Abstract:  The ability to pattern functional materials in planar and  
three-dimensional forms is of critical importance for several emerging  
applications, including energy harvesting, self-healing materials, and  
tissue engineering scaffolds. Direct-write assembly enables one to  
rapidly design and fabricate materials in arbitrary shapes without the  
need for expensive tooling, dies, or lithographic masks. Recent  
advances in microscale printing will be highlighted, including  
omnidirectional printing of flexible microelectrodes, pen-on-paper  
electronics, conformal printing of 3D electrically small antennas, and  
printed origami of lightweight metallic and ceramic structures.  
Ongoing efforts to scale up our filamentary printing approach to  
enable manufacturing of large 3D structures will also be highlighted.

Biographical Sketch:  Dr. Jennifer A. Lewis earned a Sc.D. in ceramic  
science from MIT in 1991. She joined the faculty of the materials  
science and engineering department at UIUC in 1990, where she is  
currently appointed as the Hans Thurnauer Professor of Materials  
Science and Engineering and serves as the Director of the Frederick  
Seitz Materials Research Laboratory. http://colloids.matse.illinois.edu/

Open to: the general public

Sponsor(s): Media Lab, Professor Leah Buechley - HIgh-Low Tech group

For more information, contact:
Karina Lundahl
lundahl at media.mit.edu

--------------------------------------------

Digital Disease Detection: Harnessing the Web for Public Health  
Surveillance
WHEN  Mon., Feb. 27, 2012, 12:30 – 1:30 p.m.
WHERE  HSPH FXB Bldg., Room G13, 651 Huntington Avenue, Boston
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION  Health Sciences, Lecture
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR  HSPH Infectious Disease Epidemiology Program and  
the Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics
SPEAKER(S)  John Brownstein, associate professor, Harvard Medical  
School/Children's Hospital, Boston
CONTACT INFO  lcoventr at hsph.harvard.edu
NOTE  Open to the public.

--------------------------------------------

How Mobile News Will Save TV Journalism
WHEN  Mon., Feb. 27, 2012, 4 – 6 p.m.
WHERE  Bowie Vernon Room (K262) Weatherhead Center for International  
Affairs, 1737 Cambridge Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION  Information Technology, Lecture, Social  
Sciences, Special Events
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR  WCFIA Canada Program
SPEAKER(S)  Kevin Newman, journalist
COST  Free and open to the public and off the record
CONTACT INFO  canada at wcfia.harvard.edu
LINK  http://www.wcfia.harvard.edu/seminars/canada/schedule

------------------------------------

Targeting the Poor: Evidence from a Field Experiment in Indonesia
WHEN  Mon., Feb. 27, 2012, 4:10 – 5:30 p.m.
WHERE  79 John F. Kennedy St., Taubman Building, 5th Floor, Room Nye  
A, 5 Eliot Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION  Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR  Ash Center for Democratic Governance and  
Innovation
SPEAKER(S)  Rema Hanna, Harvard Kennedy School; moderator Elizabeth  
Osborn, director, Harvard Kennedy School Indonesia Program
COST  Free
CONTACT INFO  Trisia Bantacut: Trisiawati_bantacut at hks.harvard.edu,  
617.494.8156
NOTE  Rema Hanna will discuss her recent research, "Targeting the  
Poor: Evidence from a Field Experiment in Indonesia," co-authored with  
Vivi Alatas, Abhijit Banerjee, Julia Tobias, and Ben Olken. This  
research systematically tests the effectiveness of targeting strategy  
for anti-poverty cash transfer program in Indonesia, namely, proxy- 
means test, using data on assets to predicts income; community  
targeting, using villagers own rank; and hybrid method. In particular,  
it examines the ability of each approach in identifying the poor and  
providing of satisfaction with transfer recipient list. Not only  
evaluating if the elite capture reduces community informational  
advantage, the research also observes if community has widely shared  
objective function beyond per-capita income. Understanding cost and  
benefit of targeting strategy is of practical importance for public  
policy makers, poverty-alleviation specialist, and for anyone  
interested in anti-poverty measures, especially in developing  
countries with, typically, substantial informal sector and lack of  
reliable earning records.
LINK  http://ash.harvard.edu/Home/News-Events/Events2/Targeting-the-Poor-Evidence-from-a-Field-Experiment-in-Indonesia

-----------------------------------

Future of Energy: "California’s Low Carbon Energy Future"
WHEN  Mon., Feb. 27, 2012, 5 p.m.
WHERE  Austin Hall North, Harvard Law School, 1515 Massachusetts  
Avenue, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION  Environmental Sciences, Law, Lecture
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR  Harvard University Center for the Environment
SPEAKER(S)  Mary D. Nichols, chairman, California Air Resources Board
CONTACT INFO  Lisa Matthews: matthew at fas.harvard.edu
NOTE  Nichols will discuss the state’s pioneering climate policies and  
the future of energy in California and beyond.
LINK  http://environment.harvard.edu/events/2012-02-27/future-energy-mary-d-nichols

-------------------------------------

Five members of the Beehive, a design cooperative based in Machias,  
Maine, will be in residence in the Art Education Department from  
February 21-28. They will be visiting classes and studios, installing  
an exhibition in the Arnheim Gallery, and giving two public  
presentations.

The Beehive's mission is to create collaborative, anti-copyright  
images that can be used as alternative educational and organizing  
tools. Best known for their posters, the bees collaborate to create  
visual narratives that break down and deconstruct complex and  
overwhelming political/social issues.

Schedule of Beehive Events at MassArt:
February 27 - March 14 Arnheim exhibition
Monday, Feb. 27, 7:00 - 8:30pm  opening

Wednesday, February 22, 5:15-7:00 pm, Kennedy 406, MassArt, Boston
Presentation on running a collaborative of artists and activists

Monday, February 27, 5:00-7:00 pm, Tower Auditorium, MassArt, Boston
Presentation on the True Cost of Coal Banner

The Beehive Collective releases their innovative graphic, "The True  
Cost of Coal: a visual exploration of Mountaintop Removal coal mining  
and Resistance"
Two years in the making, "The True Cost of Coal" is an elaborate  
narrative illustration that explores the complex story of mountaintop  
removal coal mining and the broader impacts of coal in Appalachia and  
beyond. The image is the culmination of an intensive and collaborative  
research process, as the Beehive methodology centers on first hand  
story-sharing. To create the poster, the Beehive interviewed hundreds  
of community members throughout the Appalachia region. "We feel it?s
extremely important to gather our information from as close to the  
source as possible," a Beehive illustrator says.

The Bees craft visual metaphors and weave them together in a patchwork  
"quilt" of personal stories. In their interactive picture-lectures,  
the Bees lead audiences through an engaging, larger-than-life banner  
version of the graphic, interweaving anecdotes, statistics, and  
history. The experience prompts discussion and understanding of  
contemporary struggles about energy and coal, while honoring the deep  
legacy of the Appalachian experience. Upon seeing the graphic, Tanya  
Turner of Pineville, KY said, "This image is changing Appalachia.  
Appalachians are taking back Appalachia and this image is a tool for  
that change."

***********
-------------

Upcoming

-------------
***********
JOURNALISM, ADVOCACY AND THE ENVIRONMENT
Tuesday, February 28
12:00pm - 1:00pm
Austin Hall West, Harvard Law School, 1515 Massachusetts Avenue,  
Cambridge
Elizabeth Kolbert, author of Field Notes from a Catastrophe and staff  
writer at the New Yorker, will speak on "Journalism, Advocacy and the  
Environment."
Contact Name: Jake Levine jake.c.levine at gmail.com

-----------------------------------

4th Annual Boston Bike Update
with Nicole Freedman, Director of Boston Bikes, City of Boston
Tuesday, February 28
5:45-8:30 pm
Boston Public Library, Rabb Lecture Hall, 700 Boylston Street, Boston,  
MA 02116

    5:45 pm Transportation community showcase: meet each other, &  
learn what
    different groups are doing to make Boston a world-class bicycling  
city (Rabb lobby)
    6:15 pm Presentation by Mayor Menino
    6:30 pm Presentation by Nicole Freedman
    7:30 pm Q&A/Discussion
    8:45 pm Social hour @ Solas, 2nd floor, 710 Boylston Street (right  
next to the library)

Hosted by LivableStreets Alliance. Free and open to the public.

If you see the orange LivableStreets biker around town, take a pic and  
post to ourFacebook wall & Twitter for chance to win prize before event!

Have you taken a ride around town on a Hubway bike yet? Has there been  
a new bike lane installed in your neighborhood this past year? Have  
you heard about the Boston Bike Network Plan? If yes, then you know  
that 2011 has been a big year for bicycling in Boston.

For the fourth year in a row, LivableStreets Alliance will host the  
annual Boston Bike Update event. Nicole Freedman, Director of the  
Boston Bikes Program, will present her fourth report on past  
achievements, challenges, and future goals of the Mayor's effort to  
create a "world class bicycling city." Come hear details on the Hubway  
bike share, the Bike Network Plan, parking facilities, youth programs,  
festivals, and more.
Special guest, Mayor Menino, will speak about his "car is no longer  
king policy" for the city. Introduction will be by Steve Miller,  
LivableStreets Board Member.

Join us at this public forum on bicycle planning in Boston, and join  
us afterwards for a social hour.

--------------------------------------------

"Drones: the New Frontier of Warfare and Spying"
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
7:00pm until 10:00pm
Friends Meeting, 5 Longfellow Park, Cambridge
	
Description
U.S. use of drones for warfare and spying has become routine. The use  
of drones increased dramatically under the Obama administration.  
Pentagon funding for drones is scheduled to increase by up to 60  
percent while other programs are being cut. Drones have been used for  
targeted killings in Pakistan,. Afghanistan and Yemen. One in three  
U.S. warplanes are now drone piloted. Drones have also been used for  
surveillance in the U.S.

Learn more about this new instrument of war and plan together about  
how we can respond.

Bruce Gagnon - Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space
Nancy Murray - American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts
Matthew Hoey - Military Space Transparency Project

For more information contact:
boston.wilpf.org -- 617-244-8054 or www.justicewithpeace.org --  
617-383-4857

-----------------------------

2012 FARM SHARE FAIR!  ::
Thursday March 1st @ 5:30-8PM  |  Free Admission
The Argenziano School in Union Sq @ 290 Washington St / Somerville

We’re bringing lots of local farms to the city!  Meet the folks who  
grow your food, and sign up for a local CSA share to get weekly fresh  
veggies!

A CSA share is a weekly box of fresh/delicious/natural veggies (and  
sometimes meat/fish) delivered by local farms to convenient pickup  
spots within our community.

* Presented by theMOVE  |  more info @ www.farmsharefair.org
* Sponsored by Rafiki Bistro + Craigie on Main
* Co-sponsored by Somerville Climate Action + NOFA/Mass + Somerville  
Community Health Agenda + Union Square Main Streets

------------------------------

Landlord Profitability Workshop
Saturday, March 3
9am to noon
MIT Student Center, 84 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge

Water bills high?
Tenants keep moving out?
Hefty common area electricity bills?
Bed bugs, rats, or mice?
Too much garbage?
Choose from several short talks.  Ask questions of the experts:

Sam Corda, Water Department Director

Michael Blasnik of Blasnik Associates

Wegowise Utility Tracking

Winn Management’s Energy Coordinator
And others!

Get answers from the experts.

Get paid for solar panels
Sign up for free email water-use alerts
See a free infrared scan of your building

We’ll only have room for 100 attendees.
Reserve your spot and learn more at  http://www.HEETma.com

Sponsored by HEET, the Cambridge Energy Alliance, and the Sustainable  
Business Network.

------------------------------

The Massachusetts Pirate Party will be hosting our first conference -
*Politics: share, remix, reboot*.  It will be all day on March 10th at  
the Democracy
Center in Cambridge.  More details and registration at:  http://www.masspirates.org/blog/conference/

So far we have the following talks:
*David House*, a researcher at MIT who helped set up the Bradley  
Manning Support Network, will be giving a talk entitled: *Going toe-to- 
toe with the state: navigating the challenges of a digital activist*.

*Shauna Gordon-McKeon*, organizer for the Boston Sunlight Foundation,  
will talk about some of the programming projects transparency  
activists are using to open up government data.

Writer and publisher *Cecilia Tan*, and *Shane Bugbee* will be on the  
*Tales from the Net: Making a living at being creative* panel.

*Michael Anderson* will give a talk called *Fight Ridiculous With  
Ridiculous: The Guerrilla Tactics of Fair Use*.

Also, *Conor Sherman* will give a talk called *Stranger Danger: Don't  
Click that Link Even If They Offer Puppies and Candy*.

Finally, we will have a number of talks by Pirate Party members,  
including:
Exploring Kopimism* by *Lauren Pespisa*
Patents Upending* by *Erik Zoltan*
Fair Use for Activists* by *Chris Walsh*
How to Run for Office* by *James O'Keefe*

We will also have time for open discussion of where the Pirate Party  
should go and what issues we should focus on.

We will be showing open or public domain films in the evening.

We hope you can join us on March 10th.

------------------------------------

Statewide Farm to School Convention
March 15, 2012
Old Sturbridge Village, Sturbridge, MA!

Come hear how inspiring food service directors, educators, students,  
parents, and community members are building connections between  
schools and farms in Massachusetts - and learn what you can do to  
further those connections.

This year's convention will feature Curt Ellis, Executive Director of  
FoodCorps, and Abbie Nelson, Vice President of the SNA in VT and  
Director of VTFEED, as well as six workshop tracks:
New Ideas for Locally Grown in School Cafeterias
Farm to School for Very Young Students
New Strategies for Expanding Farm to School Sales
Models for Successful Agriculture-Based Education
Community Connections
New Initiatives in Colleges and Other Institutions

Register at http://library.constantcontact.com/download/get/file/1103105356625-127/Convention+Registration+Form.pdf

----------------------------

MUSIC 2.0: TOOLS + TECH FOR MUSICIANS, MARKETERS, AND MANAGERS
3/19/2012
6:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Microsoft New England R&D Center, One Memorial Drive, Cambridge, MA  
02142

Description: Boston + New England have an impressive number of  
companies creating tools and technologies to help promote and fund  
music projects. We also have a vibrant and diverse music community.  
Music 2.0 keeps connecting the two for the benefit of both.

With 200+ attendees, at both the 2010 and 2011 events, they were  
terrific evenings, pulling together many of the music, tech, and event  
companies from Greater Boston.

For 2012, we are going to have more music-related companies present,  
quick updates from some companies that presented in years past, and  
more time to meet friends new and old (read: networking!) and a chance  
for companies that are hiring to press the flesh with folks who are  
job hunting.

Music 2.0 is a terrific event for:
Musicians of every genre (rock, hip hop, jazz, folk, classical,  
electronic, opera, etc.)
Marketing folks from venues, arts organizations, etc.
Managers and agents
Investors
Members of the media
Promoters and presenters that work at venues, music organizations, etc.

Register at http://www.eventbrite.com/event/2870380385

---------------------------------

Transition to a New Economy Conference
March 30th - April 1st at Harvard University

Speakers include: Richard Heinberg Post Carbon Institute and Juliet  
Schor Boston College and others

Apply online and find out more at http://www.economyfutures.org/
Early application deadline: Feb 15
Final application deadline: Feb 21

--------------------------------

It is with a sense of gratitude and deep joy that we announce the Art  
and Soul program at Wellesley College will be hosting three of the 13  
Indigenous Grandmothers this spring.  The Grandmothers will give a  
talk at Houghton Chapel on Thursday, April nineteenth at seven p.m.  
The theme of their talk will be Planting Seeds for Seven Generations:   
Making Change.  The Grandmothers will share their cultural treasures  
and life experience, in support of our community’s exploration of an  
ethics of wholeness, which can bring about a sustainable future for  
the generations to come.

Originating from all four corners of the world, these 13 wise women  
elders and medicine women first came together in 2004 at a peace  
gathering. They represent a global alliance of prayer, education and  
healing for our Earth, all her inhabitants and the next seven  
generations. We are honored to host, as representatives of this  
Grandmothers’ Council, Grandmothers Rita and Beatrice Long- Visitor  
Holy Dance of the Lakota tribe and Grandmother Mona Polacca of the  
Hopi/ Havasupai/Tewa tribe. This event is open to all, as an offering  
to our circles of community.  For more information about this event,  
contact Ji Hyang at 781.283.2793


*************
----------------

Opportunity

---------------
*************

Cambridge Residents: Free Home Thermal Images

Have you ever wanted to learn where your home is leaking heat by  
having an energy auditor come to your home with a thermal camera?   
With that info you then know where to fix your home so it's more  
comfortable and less expensive to heat.  However, at $200 or so, the  
cost of such a thermal scan is a big chunk of change.

HEET Cambridge has now partnered with Sagewell, Inc. to offer  
Cambridge residents free thermal scans.

Sagewell collects the thermal images by driving through Cambridge in a  
hybrid vehicle equipped with thermal cameras.  They will scan every  
building in Cambridge (as long as it's not blocked by trees or  
buildings or on a private way).  Building owners can view thermal  
images of their property and an analysis online. The information is  
password protected so that only the building owner can see the results.

Homeowners, condo-owners and landlords can access the thermal images  
and an accompanying analysis free of charge. Commercial building  
owners and owners of more than one building will be able to view their  
images and analysis for a small fee.

The scans will be analyzed in the order they are requested.

Go to Sagewell.com.  Type in your address at the bottom where it says  
"Find your home or building" and press return.  Then click on "Here"  
to request the report.

That's it.  When the scans are done in a few weeks, your building will  
be one of the first to be analyzed. The accompanying report will help  
you understand why your living room has always been cold and what to  
do about it.

With knowledge, comes power (or in this case saved power and money,  
not to mention comfort).

---------------------

Cambridge Energy Alliance is kicking off a brand new pilot project to  
make Cambridge more energy efficient and install more renewable energy  
one neighborhood at a time. Live Better Porter Square will  
simultaneously engage every sector in Porter Square; bringing together  
churches, schools, community gardeners, business leaders,
students and more!

The goals of this four month campaign are to promote community  
involvement, support the local economy, and highlight Porter Square as  
a model for the rest of the city.

Neighborhood Liaison volunteers will assist with planning and  
implementing outreach efforts, as well as community events. We are  
looking for individuals with an interest in community organizing,  
outreach, and event planning.

If you are interested in volunteering please sign up to attend the  
information and interview session on February 14th.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dGhQRUFaRU85dVp1c244LVJnWERTaXc6MQ

We’ll be offering an interactive and fun half-day training session for  
Neighborhood Liaison volunteers on March 3rd.

Questions? Email Meghan at outreach at cambridgeenergyalliance.org

---------------------------

*J e s t e r*
**Facebook Profile <https://www.facebook.com/jester.ronin> **¦**
LinkedIn<http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?trk=tab_pro&id=26526883>
**
P a r a n o i d Z e n
jes... at paranoidzen.com*
http://www.paranoidzen.com

Hi All,

I am sending this out to a bunch of lists I'm on, so apologies for  
cross posting effects.

Our new forums are up and running, and they are free for all!  We are  
aiming for this to become a place where Boston area collaborations,  
discussions and skill shares in audio, video, lighting, programming,  
hacking, and other various forms of 'making' happen.

Find them here:  http://cemmi.org/index.php/forum/index

Since its early, I imagine they will go through some serious  
evolutions in terms of organization but we hope you will stop by and  
check them out.  The forums even work on most mobile platforms :)

You can sign in using your Gmail, Google app, or Facebook credentials  
so there is no need to create a new account (we'll be adding a button  
to make that more obvious soon).

If you have any suggestions or changes, let us know, and if you are up  
for helping moderate, please reach out!

Many thanks, and I hope to see you there!

*********
-----------

Resource

-----------

Sustainable Business Network Local Green Guide

SBN is excited to announce the soft launch of its new Local Green  
Guide, Massachusetts' premier Green Business Directory!

To view the directory please visit: http://www.localgreenguide.org
To find out how how your business can be listed on the website or for  
sponsorship opportunities please contact Adritha at adritha at sbnboston.org

--------------------------------------------------

Massachusetts Attitudes About Climate Change – An opinion survey of  
Massachusetts residents conducted by MassINC and sponsored by the Barr  
Foundation found that 77% of respondents believe that global warming  
has “probably been happening” and 59% of all respondents see see it as  
being at least partially caused by human pollution.  Only 42% of the  
state’s residents say global warming will have very serious  
consequences for Massachusetts if left unaddressed. The 18 to 29 age  
group is more likely to believe global warming is appearing and caused  
by humans compared to the 60+ age group.  African-American (56%) and  
Latino residents (69%) are more likely than white residents (40%) to  
believe global warming will be a very serious problem if left  
unaddressed.  The MassINC report, titled The 80 Percent Challenge:   
What Massachusetts must do to meet targets and make headway on climate  
change (http://www.massinc.org/Research/The-80-percent- 
challenge.aspx), contains many other findings.

----------------------------------------------------

The presentations from the recent Affordable Comfort National Home  
Performance Conference are available online at
http://2011.acinational.org/downloadable_resources

Lots of good information from what some call the best energy  
conference in the USA on Deep Energy Retrofits to Community Energy  
Challenges with details on insulation, heat flow, energy metering,  
ducting, hot water, and many, many other topics.  If you are a  
practical energy wonk, this should make your eyes light up.

--------------------------------------------------

Free Monthly Energy Analysis

CarbonSalon is a free service that every month can automatically track  
your energy use and compare it to your past energy use (while  
controlling for how cold the weather is). You get a short friendly  
email that lets you know how you’re doing in your work to save energy.

https://www.carbonsalon.com/

---------------------------------------

Boston Food System

"The Boston Food System [listserv] provides a forum to post  
announcements of events, employment opportunities, internships,  
programs, lectures, and other activities as well as related articles  
or other publications of a non-commercial nature covering the area's  
food system - food, nutrition, farming, education, etc. - that take  
place or focus on or around Greater Boston (broadly delineated)."

The Boston area is one of the most active nationwide in terms of food  
system activities - projects, services, and events connected to food,  
farming, nutrition - and often connected to education, public health,  
environment, arts, social services and other arenas.   Hundreds of  
organizations and enterprises cover our area, but what is going on  
week-to-week is not always well publicized.

Hence, the new Boston Food System listserv, as the place to let  
everyone know about these activities.  Specifically:
Use of the BFS list will begin soon, once we get a decent base of  
subscribers.  Clarification of what is appropriate to announce and  
other posting guidelines will be provided as well.

It's easy to subscribe right now at https://elist.tufts.edu/wws/subscribe/bfs

----------------------

Artisan Asylum  http://artisansasylum.com/

Sprout & Co:  Community Driven Investigations

Greater Boston Solidarity Economy Mapping Project  http://www.transformationcentral.org/solidarity/mapping/mapping.html
a project by Wellesley College students that invites participation,  
contact jmatthaei at wellesley.edu

------------------------

Bostonsmart.com's Guide to Boston  http://www.bostonsmarts.com/BostonGuide/

********************************************
-----------------------------------------------------

Links to events at 60 colleges and universities at Hubevents   http://hubevents.blogspot.com

Thanks to

Fred Hapgood's Selected Lectures on Science and Engineering in the  
Boston Area  http://www.BostonScienceLectures.com

Boston Area Computer User Groups  http://www.bugc.org/

Arts and Cultural Events List  http://aacel.blogspot.com/

http://www.mitenergyclub.org/calendar/mit_events_template

http://sustainability.mit.edu/

http://www.environment.harvard.edu/events/calendar/

http://green.harvard.edu/events

http://microsoftcambridge.com/Events/tabid/57/Default.aspx

http://pechakuchaboston.org/blog/

http://boston.nerdnite.com/

http://www.meetup.com/

http://www.eventbrite.com/



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